Pastor Brian will be working from home next week, August 4 after worship through August 10. He and Pastor Karen will be caring for their visiting grandchildren.
Please be aware that there may be lags in response times (no texting while bathing babies!) and when possible, save your question/comment for the following week. Time with children is precious and fleeting. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Interested in helping put together a gift basket for Family Promise?
Each Family Promise host church is providing a gift basket for the silent auction at the upcoming Drive In Sleep Out fundraiser.
Family Promise offers hope and housing to families going through tough times. The Drive In Sleep Out is their largest fundraiser of the year. Learn more about the event at https://www.familypromiseofbeaverton.org/events
Here’s your opportunity to use your creativity for a great cause! Contact Bonnie Becker for more information about how you can help.
Family Promise of Beaverton is hosting their 3rd Annual Drive-In Sleep Out event at Beaverton City Park, 12500 SW 4th St, Beaverton, on Saturday, August 24 & Sunday, August 25. Join the team from Family Promise, as we try to pack 200 parking spots with ‘car-camping adventurers’ who want to raise funds and awareness about child and family homelessness in Beaverton.
Saturday & Sunday festivities include
* Live music * Guest speakers * Food Trucks * Movie in the park * Hot breakfast
To find out more about the 3rd Annual Drive-In Sleep Out, come to church on Sunday, August 11, and visit https://www.familypromiseofbeaverton.org/events
Question: When has a seemingly insignificant action resulted in a significant outcome?
Answers:
Filling in at a different children’s dental office, telling my boss, and then getting a raise.
Hiring a young man to wash dishes at my father’s restaurant. We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary yesterday.
Don’t forget!
This Sunday, August 4, our second service will be at Christ UMC, 12755 NW Dogwood St in Portland. We will be celebrating our collaborative effort, Camp IWannaBe, at 10:30 am.
There will still be an 8:15 am service at Westside.
Dear Friends,
Last week I published the first part of an article my wife, Karen, had written for Canby UMC. In that article she tells how she has been living into the idea of practicing positive affirmations in her own life. Then she continues, that God had directed her thoughts “toward positive words of affirmation about our life together as a community of faith.” As a result Karen began praying affirmations for their congregation.
I’ve written some that I am praying over our congregation as well. Karen’s were very similar to these.
· We are a lighthouse of love, healing and hope.
· We value authenticity: sharing life-- laughing, weeping, learning, and praying together.
· We practice real communication.
· We share Jesus with our lives, words and acts of service.
· We are a place of love, hope and joy.
· We follow the prompts of God’s Holy Spirit.
· We welcome those who hunger for God and spiritual substance.
· We are seeing homeless teens housed.
· We openly invite others to join our community of faith.
· We meet together regularly in unlikely places.
· The world sees God at work in our lives.
· We make space for questions and are open to answers from the wisdom of God’s word and the life journeys of others who follow Christ.
· We experience God’s presence in our lives.
As Pastor Karen at Canby UMC has been living into similar affirmations for Canby and praying daily, God began to answer. One of her affirmations was about how “we welcome those who hunger for God.” And on Monday, this week, God brought a miracle. A man came to the door with his cousin. The man was seeking to baptized. Today. Karen wrote: “I heard a bit of his story and then I put on my robe and stole. We lit candles and Marilyn, (her admin), was the congregation. I baptized him. He’s been longing for this for 50 years. What a glorious gift to be part of God’s work in the world and in his life.”
Who knows who God wants to reach or touch through us?
Would you begin to pray these affirmations or write others that connect for you?
Let’s join in this adventure of living in the present and being willing to share what God reveals to you through it!
Thanks for being adventurers in this journey!
Brian
The book of Esther reads like a good story: a protagonist, an antagonist/evil villain, and a conflict. A plot of destruction and revenge. A hero emerges in a young woman seemingly with no power. But who is the real hero here? And how can we apply this to our own stories?
Are we aware of God’s movement even when it’s small and seemingly insignificant? Do we discount or overlook God’s part in the process because it seems so small or goes unnoticed? Do we believe that God can do great things in our everyday lives? Do we believe that God is moving behind the scenes?
Beaverton First UMC will be hosting a school supplies giveaway on Thursday, August 22 from 2pm to 4pm. They will also be hosting the Free Food Market (with Oregon Food Bank) on that Thursday from 3pm to 5pm.
Any and all donations to the school supplies giveaway gladly accepted!
Backpacks
No. 2 pencils
Pocket folders
Binder paper – college rule & wide rule
1” binders
Spiral notebooks – college rule & wide rule
Colored pencils
Rulers
Blue and red pens
Glue sticks
Plain copy paper
Please contact Pastor Jefferson (jchao@beavertonumc.org) or office@beavertonumc.org with any questions. Thank you!
Camp IWannaBe (a collaborative effort of Westside, Christ, and West Portland UMCs) begins in less than one week!
Here are three ways you can help:
Invite children in preschool through fifth grade to attend. Enroll them here.
Donate items for “welcome boxes” and the meal that’s being served to homeless youth. Here’s a list.
Volunteer to help during camp, especially preparing lunches on Thursday and Friday.
More information will be available at church this Sunday.
Please email iwannabe@cedarmillchristumc.org with questions or to help.
Here’s a photo taken this week, of our Westsiders with their new friends in the Dominican Republic.
And the accompanying message from Pastor Brian:
We are having this amazing time. Building rich relationships with one another and the people of Rio Grande.
Please continue to hold them in your prayers until they return home.
Please continue to be in prayer for the eleven missionaries working in the Dominican Republic this week. Pray for their health, their strength, and the renewal of their spirits as they worship together with the children and adults they serve.
Christ United Methodist Church will be showing the animated movie, “Brave” (Pixar, 2012, rated PG), this Friday, July 26. Free popcorn will be served starting at 7:30, followed by the movie at 8:00 pm.
Bring a blanket or lawn chairs and settle in for an evening of family fun!
Christ UMC is located at 12755 NW Dogwood St in Portland.
Question: Name a time when one message was the “debbie downer” for a day or week?
Answers:
When lawyer said it could take another year for divorce to come to a reconcilable state.
Add your answer to the comments on Facebook or the website, www.westsidejourney.com
Dear Friends --
Karen, my wife, had written this great article for Canby UMC, and so I asked if I could share it with you over the next two Sundays.
Ponder this here:
“The conversation at our Sunday night family dinner table comes back again and again to the power of the mind, the power of affirmations, the truth that what we say to ourselves and to others often, if not always, comes to pass. There are three simple things to remember about words of affirmation:
• Positive affirmations are always in the present tense. Not “I will” or “I’m going to” but present tense: I am the best dad. I love my body. I am wholehearted.
• Positive affirmations only include positive words. It takes your brain a lot of extra work to get past the negativity of “I can’t” or “I won’t” or “I’ll never be like…” or “I’m exhausted.”
• Positive affirmations are spoken as words of truth. Use words like “I am” or “I do” rather than “might” or “could.” Be sure of what you are affirming.
Our brains are set up to do what we tell them. So we have powerful influence over the flow of our thoughts and the subsequent actions that follow those thoughts.
It seems like the apostle Paul had some insights along these lines (without the proof of brain research, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ;-). God is always ahead of science by millennia).
He wrote this to the Christians at Philippi,
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil 4:8)
Paul repeated several words that seem almost like the same thing. He must have known what research has revealed. Our brains are creatures of habit and the more we repeat something, the more likely it is to happen or come true.
What about saying things that don’t feel true?
Maybe we want something that isn’t true right now and maybe it feels like it will never be true. That definitely creates a tension and discomfort. Most of our life is spent avoiding discomfort and so these positive words spoken into a hard situation create tension. This is all the more reason to embrace that intention and that affirmation. The truth is we will either change the affirmation so that it feels comfortable (someday I will lose weight) or we will change our behavior and habits so that the affirmation is true: I eat healthy foods, I exercise regularly, and I get plenty of rest.”
That’s the first part of her article. So, what do you think?
How do you speak? What do you say to yourself? How do you narrate life in your own head? How positive or negative is your language?
I know that mine has been so negative in so many seasons! Catching ourselves is key! I’ve been choosing new, positive, clear statements instead!
Years ago Catherine Marshall (author and then wife of the Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall) heard the Lord speak to her heart not to speak anything negative. She agreed thinking it would be no great thing. But found she had to remain silent for three days for she was so in the habit of speaking negatively! She literally could think of no positive thing to say!
Have you ever been warned not to make vows for they are self fulfilling in the opposite direction of the vow? So, if you say: “I’ll never be like my dad.” Your brain won’t process the negative and only records “like dad” and positions you to become what you believe you do not want to be. With brain research, this makes sense.
This week – create some positive affirmations to speak over and into your own life. Can you envision a hope and a future? “Think on these things,” Paul wrote.
Keep walking together into this transitional Journey!
Brian
It’s here! The Sunday that we worship, sing, rejoice, share, and thank God for our baptism.
Join us this Sunday at Hagg Lake at 11:00 am in the Sain Pavilion. There will be a potluck lunch, so please bring something to share.
There will be no 8:15 service this Sunday.
Don’t let anything stop you from attending. Be like Esther and show up.
We have a new family moving into the parsonage at the end of the month. Like any home, it needs a little TLC first. Please join us tomorrow, July 20, from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm (feel free to come and go as you need.)
Tasks include patching, painting, and yard work. All skill levels are welcome!
The parsonage is directly south of the church.
We will be worshipping this Sunday, July 21, at 11:00 am at Hagg Lake. After our music-filled service, we will have baptisms in the lake and a potluck lunch. Please bring a side to share.
There will be no 8:15 am service!
We have an opportunity to raise money for Westside by working the Dairy Maid booth at the Washington County Fair!
We need 10 people to cover the 5:00 pm to closing shift on Sunday, July 28. You may split a shift with someone if you like.
The church will earn 15% of the sales plus all tips! Contact Paige Flanagan if you’re available. Great fun for a great cause!
In case you missed it, here’s a reprint of Pastor Brian’s letter…
Dear Faithful Family!
This congregation was birthed out of a movie and a dream.
The movie was Sister Act for after seeing that, Pastor Dan Pitney had a dream of planting a congregation that would be blessed and enhanced by music and the Gospel. In the movie, the main character transforms an insipid Convent Choir into a jazzy, upbeat, outreaching group of people who change ministry for their area. The music in the convent inspires outside-of-the-church action.
In the fall of 1994 Dan began a Bible Study focused on this new church start, with the first service slated for March 1995, and then we were chartered as Westside UMC in June 1996. Gayellyn Jacobson was at one of the first Bible Studies, and has been here ever since!
From the start, Westside was focused on reaching people outside the doors. We have always been a missionary church, a lighthouse, if you will, to help many discover love, hope and healing.
Back in the same year when Dan saw and was impacted by the movie Sister Act, I too saw it in the San Jacinto Theater in California, and was so caught by the message. Yes, music and the Gospel could change the church and community! I worked in two congregations seeking to help that happen, and then God brought me to this place where music and the Gospel were already doing just that. Jesus did that, brought me here, and we have had such a great ride.
Cool roots filled with vision and passion and hope to see lives healed, freed, and transformed! And over these years, we have seen just that!
In 2019 so far, your generous hearts have made it possible to host Family Promise for two separate weeks, reach out to the Migrant Camp Workers, experience God move in weekly worship(!), in prayer ministry, and in counseling. Bible Basics finished their 7-year trek through the Bible! Seven amazing guys completed confirmation class. And do you know of your Food Tents operated by Amy Fiederowicz help some 200 people a week get food through her and reach countless others through Bonnie Becker who continues to share the wealth? And also, Bonnie is getting food from Kentucky Fried Chicken and taking this along with other foods to Home Plate weekly! Listen – we are life-giving body about ministry and outreach.
So when you give, it’s giving so the Gospel can continue to change lives here and even as far afield as the Dominican Republic with our team of 11 and 1100 pounds of supplies! Thank you for having the vision to give and make such a difference. And thank you for continuing to give to God through Westside Journey UMC. We are changing the world with love.
Love to you all!
Pastor Brian
The latest newsletter from our missionary friends, Tim and Margarita Revett, can be found at http://www.tmrevett.blogspot.com/. Read about their adventures climbing a mountain with three small children!